TALK to many small retailers today on either side of the Atlantic and they will say that Wal-Mart is devouring America and Tesco gobbling up Britain.

But not every minnow is easily swallowed.

Small businesses have become some of America's most effective lobbyists, while in Britain, traders who join forces are holding their own.

Many form co-operatives, mimicking the leviathans by combining purchasing power and reducing overheads. It's as much about principles as survival. Of today's survivors, many are in strong groups: some franchise, or, better still, they join co-operatives.

If you are a small animal, you've got to get into the pack. All co-operative groups should work with each other, find common ground and use the group connection.

They need to create economies of scale, comparing stock data and sharing the cost of things like advertising.

This sort of activity is well advanced in America. The National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB) provides detailed breakdowns of how congressmen vote on business issues and publishes these on its website (www.nfib.org). When pressure is needed, they can mobilise a highly motivated membership to contact their political representative or government agencies.

Politicians are scored according to their work for small business. A 70% pro-business voting record will give support to the congressman in the next election, 50% will let them have a reminder how important small business is to the US economy and a 30% record will trigger a candidate chosen to stand against the politician. The voting records are not only published to the membership, but broadcast in the national media.

There is also the American Independent Business Alliance (AIBA), a body of grassroots activists that grew from a movement in Boulder, Colorado, in the late 1990s. The anti-chain-store movement is growing rapidly.

The AIBA is calling for a national boycott which would, it says, would result in potentially millions more dollars being injected into local economies.

Meanwhile research from the American Institute for Local Self Reliance(AILSR) set out to prove that buying from independent businesses helps neighbourhood economies and that chain stores suck money from communities where they operate.

Eight SMEs in Maine gave details of their finances, and the AILSR used public information to calculate those of a typical store giant such as Wal-Mart or Target. (They had failed to disclose how much of their revenue they spent locally.) They found that locally owned businesses recycle a bigger share of dollars into the local economy than national chains.

An independent business alliance in Austin, Texas, reached the same conclusion. When the bookseller giant, Borders, tried to open up there, the alliance commissioned an independent survey. This concluded that a locally-spent dollar generated three times more economic activity than one spent in a giant chain. The findings led to an outcry and, says the alliance, caused Borders to abandon its plans.

The tax system often benefits retail giants, but an alliance in Salt Lake City was pivotal in stopping a subsidy that would have led to the construction of an out-of-town mall.

This sort of activism is something from whichWales can learn from. We don't seem to have got to grips with the use of planning legislation to limit the size of supermarkets.

But there is a glimmer of hope. In rural North Wales, when Tesco announced plans for a superstore at Ruthin, Denbighshire FSB chairman Gwyn Evans turned lobbyist at county hall. He feared Tesco's plans to include a cafe and pharmacy could substantially damage local trade.

He lobbied hard. The council were reluctant to give permission but this was an enterprise that would have employed 140 people. The campaign against Tesco was a partial victory - the council allowed the cafe but turned down the pharmacy.

Rural shops have also been picked off by the inexorable rise of supermarkets. In Wiltshire, agencies and councils have responded by clubbing together and backing a "village shops adviser". The role, which is funded by the Rural Renaissance Initiative, involves suggesting the best ways for retailers to improve and sustain their businesses.

So, it's clear that things are happening in small retailers' fight against their giant competitors. The challenge now is to ensure that it is not too little, too late.